Underground loading machine



April 7, 1953 s. c. MOON UNDERGROUND LOADING MACHINE 2 SHEETS-'-Sl-1EET 1 Filed Sept. 15, 1949 I lll/Y vs/vrole, STERLING CMoon; BY

April 7, 1953 c. MOON 2,633,973

UNDERGROUND LOADING MACHINE Filed Sept. 15, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 [N VEN TOE J' HTT'V.

258 STERLING C. MooN,

Patented Apr. 7, 1953 2,633,973 UNDERGROUND LOADING MACHINE Sterling 0. Moon, Worthington, Ohio, assignor to The Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Ohio Application September 15, 1949, Serial No. 115,905

4 Claims. (Cl. 198-89) This invention relates to a loading machine adapted particularly for underground operation, for example, in a coal mine, to gather coal which hasbeen previously undercut and shot or otherwise loosened and deliver the same to a receptacle, such as a conveyor.

An object of the invention therefore is to provide improved apparatus of the above mentioned type.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved main frame and trough construction for a loader of the above mentioned type. ,7

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novel features and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

' In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machine of my invention, with certain parts broken away;

'Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevational view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional elevational view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevational View of a detail, showing particularly one of the front wipers and boom supporting wheels;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing a slide block substituted for a front boom supporting roller;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-'l of Fig. 2, with parts omitted; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view showing details of a slide block substituted for a rear boom supporting roller.

This application is a continuation in part of my application, Serial No. 754,516, filed June 13, 1947, entitled Underground Loading Machine, now Patent No. 2,591,584, dated April 1, 1952.

The machine of my invention includes an elongated generally horizontally extending low boxlike main frame 30 which is built up of a number of welded or otherwise rigidly attached parts including a pair of elongated longitudinally extending laterally spaced bottom channels 3|. Mounted on top of the channels 3 I and rigidly attached thereto, as by welding, are laterally spaced upstanding top plates 32, the channels 3| and plates 32 cooperating to provide the upright side walls of the box-likemain frame 33. The bottom inwardlyexte-nding flanges of the channels 3| are rigidly connected together by one or more cross plates 33 which constitute the bottom of said boxlike main frame 30.

As clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, the top of the box-like main frame 30 is open and provides a rectilinear longitudinally extending generally horizontal trough 34 which isformed by a pair of oppositely inwardly and downwardly sloping trough side walls 35. which are welded along their top edges to the tops of the side plates 32 and which adjacent their bottoms extend parallel and vertical as 7 clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, the bottoms of said walls or plates being bent outwardly and welded to the inwardly extendingupper webs or flanges of channels 3|, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

At spaced intervals along the length of the main frame 30 there are cross-pieces in the form of tubes, or the like, which extend between and are rigidly connected to the vertical bottom portions of the trough side walls 35. One of these tubes is seen at 36 in Fig. 3 of the drawings and houses the cross connecting shaft of the wheel controlling mechanism, which is disclosed in detail in my parent application above identified. Other said tubes or cross members 36 do not perform such a double function, one of the plain cross tubes 36 being seen in Fig. 1 of the drawings. These cross tubes 36 not only connect the intermediate portion of the main frame side members together, butthey also act to support a removable bottom pan 31 of the trough 34, which bottom pan 3'! is of inverted channel shape and has its side upright webs or walls in close frictional engagement with the vertical portions of the trough side walls 35.

The inverted channel or pan 3! may be readily removed by simply lifting it vertically out of the trough when the hereinafter described boom and associated traveling pan are removed, thus providing for inspection of those parts carried'on the interior of the main frame 30. Furthermore,

said bottom pan 3'! provides a housing for at least part of the return run of the endless chain and flight conveyer mechanism hereinafter described more in detail. The main frame and trough con struction herein described are claimed in my con-' tinuation-in-part application Serial No. 290,683, filed May 29, 1952, for an Underground Loading Machine and Frame Thereof. I

Telescoping within the bottom portion of the main frame 30 is a rectilinearly adjustable boom 38 which extends out the front end of said main is preferably adjustably mounted on said boom. frame 30 and carries a gathering head 30 which Theboom 38 includes a pair of longitudinally extending laterally spaced channels 40, the upper and lower webs of which extend outwardly and overlap the inwardly extending webs of channels 3| of the main frame 30, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings. These boom channels 40 are rigidly attached together by one or more bottom plates 45 and a plurality of cross members or tubes 42 which are welded thereto.

Power driven chain mechanism is provided for adjusting the boom 38 rectilinearly relative to the mainframe 30, which is disclosed in complete detail in application, Serial No. 530,361, of Arthur L. Lee, entitled Loading Machine, filed April 10, 1944, now Patent No. 2,589,827, dated March 18, 1952. This power driven mechanism is partly disclosed herein and includes a hydraulic motor 43 (see Fig. 1) which drives a shaft 44 (see Fig. 4) through drive mechanism including a chain and final drive sprocket 45. Shaft 44 carries spaced sprockets 48 which cooperate with chains 41 which are anchored at opposite ends to the boom 38. By reversely operating the motor 43. and shaft 44, the boom 38 and its detached gathering head 39 may be fed rectilinearly inwardly and outwardly, or, in other words, in reverse. directions.

There is an overlapping trough 48. which rides in and overlaps the main frame trough 34 and which is pivotally attached at its front to the gathering head 39-so that material, such as loose coal, gathered by said gathering head 39 will always be delivered to the travelingv trough 48 for all positions thereof.

As illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings, the overlapping trough 48 is quite long and extends. from the front of the. main frame 39 to the rear of the main frame trough 34 when the head 39 is retracted. To maintain the rear discharge edge of the trough 48. in sliding contact with the trough 34 at all times the sloping side walls of said trough 48 are. cut, as indicated at A9 in Fig. 1 of the drawings, to give flexibility thereto. along a transverse axis. This feature is. disclosed and claimed in the application of Arthur L. Lee, for an Underground Loading Machine Including a Flexible Trough, Serial No. 81,794., filed March 16, 1949, and now Patent No. 2,597,345, dated May 20, 1952.

As clearly illustrated in several of the figures of the drawings, the general configuration of the trough 48 follows the configuration of the trough 34; so that it fits readily thereinto. Tomaintain a close overlap between the sliding trough 48 and the stationary trough 34 under the influence of.

the head 39 and the: boom 38., longitudinally extending overlapping angles 5.6 are provided along eachtop. edge of the main frame 39 and extend substantially the full length thereof, thereby removably holding the longitudinally slidable trough 48 down against the walls of the stationary trough 3.4.

Anendless double chain and flight conveyer extends from a head shaft, not shown, in the gathering head 39 to a discharge or tail shaft 53 (see Fig. 2) adjacent the rear or discharge. end of the. main frame 39., the upper or working run thereof running continuously from, the front end to the rear end of the troughs 34 and 48, the return run being reeved about shafts which provide for free expansion of the boom in a manner disclosed in full detail in said Lee application, Serial No. 530,361, new Patent No. 2,589,827.

It is adequate. for the purposes of this application to state that the double chain of said conveyer 5i is driven from a cross shaft 5 5 (see Fig. 1) is driven by a sprocket. 57 which in turn is: driven bya chain from a sprocket 58 controlled by a clutch mounted in a housing 69 to which a primary electric driving motor BI is attached, the housing 69 and motor 6! being rigidly attached to one side of the main frame 39.

Adjacent the front of the main frame 39 and on each side thereof there is a power driven traction wheel 9! which is driven and mounted as disclosed in full detail in my parent application above identified. The wheels 91 support the front end of the complete loader unit as well as provide power traction therefor.

Adjacent the rear end of the main frame 39 and to one side thereof there is an anchor jack IQ! for anchoring said loader and supporting the rear end thereof for swinging movement about an upright axis. The loader also carries a pair of rear steering wheels 12%, one at each side thereof, which are used to steer said unit as it runs under its own power from place to place. These wheels may be lifted off the mine room floor, when the rear end of the loader is supported by the jack m, by structure also. disclosed in full detail in my parent application.

Attention is now directed particularly to Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings and to the construction of front roller mechanism for supporting the boom 38. Adjacent their forward ends the channel members 3i of the main frame 39 carry in Wardly projecting rollers I58 which are journaled on stub shafts I59. Said rollers I58 extend between the webs of the channels 49 and normally support the boom 38 through their supporting of the upper webs. of said channels 48, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings. Ahead of each roller IE8 is a wiper I59 (see Fig. 5), the wipers I60 being rigidly attached to holding brackets on the. front of channels 3| and having bottom wiping edges which wipe dirt and the like from the upper surface of the bottom flanges or webs of channels 49.

Adjacent the rear end of the boom 38 the channels40 carry a cross shaft I6I (see Figs. 2 and 7) which carries rollers IE2 at its opposite ends which normally roll on the upper surfaces of the bottom inwardly extending flanges or webs of the main channel members 3 I. As the boom 33 moves forward, the center of gravity thereof may move ahead of the front rollers 58, in which case the rollers I62 will move upwardly a slight amount and contact the lower faces of the upper webs or flanges of channels 3-I. In any event, for all rectilinear positions, of adjustment of the boom 38 it will be mounted on the rollers I58 and IE2 with respect to the main frame 3!).

As illustrated in Fig. 7, to the rear of each of the rollers I62 is a wiper E63 which is attached to. a cross member I69 extending between chan-- nels Q0 and, rigidly attached to them as by welding. The wipers I63 wipe thev upper surfaces of the lower webs or flanges of channels 3|.

Instead of rollers I58 and I62 I may employ slidev blocks which have their contacting surfaces greased so as readily to slide on associated channelwebs of channels 31 or 49. In Fig. 6 of. the drawings I have illustrated such a slide block 258 as a. replacement of the front roller I58. It is provided intermediate its ends with a grease pocket 26!], and grease conduits and fittings are provided leading to said pocket so that the upper friction surface thereof may be greased. Where a rear block 262 is employed, as illustrated in Fig, 8, instead of the rear roller I62, both the upper and lower surfaces will be provided with similar grease. pockets and grease conduits and fittings, since both of said surfaces are sliding bearing surfaces under the conditions above described in connection with roller i622 Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and applicant therefore wishes not to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus described and shown an embodi ment of the invention, what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A loading machine including an elongated frame having laterally spaced inwardly extending channels forming parts thereof, a trough in the top of said frame, a boom extending into said frame including spaced outwardly extending channels adjacent said frame channels, a trough carried with said boom and overlapping said frame trough, conveyer mechanism extending through said troughs, slide block mechanisms carried by said frame at one position and extending into said boom channels thereby supporting said boom for longitudinal adjustment, and slide block mechanisms spaced longitudinally from said first slide block mechanisms and carried by said boom and extending into 'said frame channels thereby supporting said boom at another position for said longitudinal adjustment.

2. A loading machine including an elongated frame having laterally spaced inwardly extending channels forming parts thereof, a trough in the top of said frame, a boom extending into said frame including spaced outwardly extending channels adjacent said inwardly facing frame channels, a trough carried with said boom and overlapping said frame trough, conveyer mechanism extending through said troughs, a pair of slide blocks one at each side of said frame, means carried by said frame at one position pivotally carryin said slide blocks with the latter extending into said boom channels thereby supporting said boom for longitudina1 adjustment, another pair of slide blocks, one at each side of said boom, and means spaced longitudinally from said first slide blocks carried by said boom pivotally sup-,- porting said other slide blocks with the latter extending into said frame channels thereby supporting said boom at another position for said longitudinal adjustment, said slide blocks being pivotally mounted so that they follow properly the channels into which they extend and slide irrespective of relative flexing of said boom and frame channels.

3. A loading machine including an elongated frame having laterally spaced inwardly extending channels forming parts thereof, a trough in the top of said frame, a boom extending into said frame including spaced outwardly extending channels adjacent said inwardly facin frame channels, a trough carried with said boom and overlapping said frame trough, conveyer mechanism extending through said troughs, a pair of slide blocks, one at each side of said frame, means carried by said frame carrying said slide blocks with the latter extending into said boom channels thereby supporting said boom for longitudinal adjustment, and support means spaced longitudinally from said slide blocks carrying one end of said boom thereby supportin said boom at another position for said longitudinal adjustment, said slide blocks being pivotally mounted so that they follow properly the channels into which they extend and slide irrespective of relative flexing of said boom and frame channels.

4. A loading machine including an elongated frame having laterally spaced inwardly extending channels forming parts thereof, a trough in the top of said frame, a boom extending into said frame including spaced outwardly extending channels adjacent said inwardly facing frame channels, a trough carried with said boom and overlapping said frame trough, conveyer mechanism extending through said troughs, support means carried by said frame supporting said boom for longitudinal adjustment, a pair of slide blocks one at each side of said boom, and means spaced longitudinally from said first support means carried by said boom supporting slide blocks with the latter extending into said frame channels thereby supporting said boom at another position for said longitudinal adjustment, all of said slide blocks being pivotally mounted so that they follow properly the channels into which they extend and slide irrespective of relative flexing of said boom and frame channels.

STERLING C. MOON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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